Flash Backs
by Brit2
Summary: A follow on from the last episode of Season 2 - Spoilers Please read and review.
1. Despair

TITLE: Flash Backs  
  
AUTHOR: Brit  
  
STATUS: WIP - Chapter 1  
  
RATING: R - Angst/Violence/Sexual content  
  
PAIRING: Not really that type of story but T/B sort of  
  
SUMMARY: My answer to Marissa's ultimate fanfic challenge on the slipstream bbs. Tyr on Flash, Beka trying to avoid Flash and Harper getting hurt because of the actions of one of them.  
  
SPOILERS: Season 2  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Andromeda or any of her characters mentioned in this story. If I did own Harper I would have a permanent very big grin on my face.  
  
Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant leaned against the parapet on his ship's observation deck. He stared blankly at the swirling nebula in front of him. He couldn't see the beauty of the scene, his mind was filled with images of the crumpled, blood soaked body of his engineer.  
  
He ran his fingers through his hair. How had it come to this, all the grand plans and enthusiasm of the early days gone. Two of his crewmembers seemingly beyond help, one critically injured. Rev Bem had left the ship and Trance was, well he wasn't sure what Trance was. Sometimes his heart ached to see the innocent purple girl that she had once been. Only Rommie was a constant in his life, he knew he would have never been able to survive the last few months without Rommie.  
  
His thoughts went back to the dreadful day when it had all started to go wrong. The day that had started the vicious cycle of sorrow, joy and finally sorrow once more.  
  
The Eureka Maru had returned to Andromeda. Her cockpit was wrecked and open to space. No one could have survived the devastation. Beka and Tyr were both missing, possibly sucked into space when the hull had breached.  
  
The entire crew had been shocked. Each of them was feeling the loss of their comrades. Seamus Harper had felt it more than the others. He'd given an inarticulate cry and begun to tear at the wreckage. He hadn't stopped even when his hands were torn and bleeding. Dylan had been forced to try and restrain him. He'd been very surprised at the small human's strength; the young man had turned on his Captain, pummelling him with bloodied fists. The youngster's body suddenly relaxed and he slumped against Dylan. Trance and Rommie were able to get him to the med deck and treat his injuries.  
  
Even before he'd recovered he was back on board the Maru. He moved into his old billet in the crew quarters and worked like a fanatic to repair the ship. He spoke little and ate less. He didn't seem to sleep at all. Harper was living on Sparky cola and sheer adrenaline. The only member of the crew he would tolerate near him was Rommie.  
  
Dylan tried to reason with him on more than one occasion but his words had no effect. Harper had looked at him with such misery on his face that Dylan realised it would be cruel not to let him finish his self-imposed task.  
  
One morning when Harper was looking even worse than usual Dylan tried again. "She's not coming back Harper, try to accept that. We're all mourning our loss but we have to go on. Beka wouldn't want you to torture yourself like this."  
  
Harper turned on him. His eyes were dry; he hadn't been able to cry. They had a haunted expression very unlike his old carefree self. "Leave me alone, how the Hell do you know what Beka would have wanted. You couldn't even see how much she wanted you." He hissed the words at Dylan and pushed past him to carry on working on the Maru.  
  
"Leave him Dylan, let him get it out of his system." Rommie laid a gentle hand on Hunt's shoulder. Dylan turned to her, his shock at Harper's words still apparent on his face. He sighed. "Rommie, I don't know what to do about him. I can deal with Dragan's, Magog, Pyrian's and any other race that wants a piece of the Andromeda, but I can't deal with this." Not for the first time he wished that Rev Bem were still on board. The Wayist monk would surely have been able to comfort his friend.  
  
Rommie smiled sympathetically. "Trance thinks that once he's completed the repairs he will be able to come to terms with what's happened."  
  
Days passed and Harper finally had the Maru back to as near pristine condition as he could manage. He went to his bed in the old crew quarters and slept for a full 24 hours. When he woke up he seemed more at peace with himself. The drive to work on the damaged ship had left him, and while he was by no means the old Harper there was a sense of serenity about him.  
  
His new-found calm lasted exactly one day. 


	2. It Happened

Chapter 2 - Rating and disclaimers as Chapter 1  
  
Please read and review.  
  
It was very quiet on the command deck of the Andromeda. Dylan looked around him at the remnants of his crew. They would carry on of course, what else could they do. He would have to start looking for some replacements. How could anyone possibly replace those they had lost?  
  
He still half expected to see Beka stride on to the deck and take over the slipstream chair. He missed her presence, her bad hair days and her wide grin. He knew he wouldn't find another pilot to equal her. Her inborn ability and skill didn't occur that often. He remembered his other pilot. Dawn had been a born pilot too, and a loyal crewmember. Her execution at the hand of Rhade still had the power to shock him, even after 300 years.  
  
He smiled wryly, he missed Tyr too. It wasn't the same without the big Nietzschean on the weapons controls. Tyr was a man of few words but he made every one of them count. Dylan missed the interaction between Harper and Tyr, occasionally irritating but more often amusing. The large, solemn and controlled Nietzschean and the small hyperactive mudfoot engineer. Those two had come to terms with each other and Dylan knew that behind the annoyance that Tyr usually showed in the presence of the little Professor there was a deep and growing friendship between the two men.  
  
The ship's voice cut through his reminiscences. "A small vessel is in our vicinity, they are requesting permission to dock. I have no visual contact. My sensors are picking up two lifeforms on board."  
  
Harper was out of the slipstream chair and running for the docking area before anyone could stop him. Dylan chased after him and soon managed to catch up with the smaller man. He caught hold of Harper's arm. "I know what you're thinking, it can't be them. You know better than anyone the mess that the Maru was in when she returned. No one could possibly have survived that."  
  
Harper wriggled free. "We don't know that." There was desperation in his voice. "Perhaps they weren't on board when the damage was done." His voice was husky with emotion and his face showed clearly what he was feeling.  
  
Dylan cursed under his breath. Harper had come so far in his recovery; this event would set him back weeks. He felt a surge of antagonism towards the unknown occupants of the approaching craft.  
  
The Rommie hologram shimmered into existence in front of him. "They are waiting for an answer Dylan, they are not armed and Andromeda does not think that they represent a threat to her safety."  
  
Dylan sighed. "Give them permission to dock and tell them to remain inside their vessel until I arrive at the bay."  
  
Harper had an extremely stubborn expression on his face. "I'm coming too. If it is them I don't want to miss a second of their arrival."  
  
A short time later armed and ready the two men entered the docking bay. A small ship sat in the very centre of the area. It was battle scarred and rusty. As Harper and Dylan watched the hatch opened and a figure appeared in the doorway. She was filthy and battered but it was unmistakably Beka Valentine. She exited the craft and the space behind her was filled with a tall dark man. "Beka, Tyr." Harper could hardly contain his excitement.  
  
Tyr also left the ship. He was in a worse state than Beka. A visor covered the entire upper half of his face. He seemed to have suffered injuries to his legs and he stumbled as he walked towards Dylan.  
  
Harper raced over to Beka, he was beyond speech, and he just wanted to touch her and reassure himself that he wasn't dreaming. He placed his hand on her arm and she shrugged it off, totally ignoring him. He tried again and was roughly pulled away by Tyr who threw the small engineer to the ground. Harper looked up at him with an expression of surprise on his face that Dylan would have found funny in other circumstances.  
  
"Tyr," Harper began. "Shut up kludge and leave her alone. We have come back for the Maru and when we have it we will be leaving."  
  
Dylan intervened. "Beka, what happened to you?" She shrugged. "We don't want to talk about it, it happened, it's over." She looked over at Harper as if seeing him for the first time. "Sorry kid," she said. "It's better that we don't stay." She and Tyr left the docking bay and walked into the Andromeda's interior.  
  
Dylan was furious and started to go after them. Harper picked himself up and followed the Captain. "Give them time boss, please, something really bad must have happened to them. I've never seen Beka like that before."  
  
Beka Valentine and Tyr Anasazi made their way to the Nietzschean's quarters. Tyr opened the door. "Ship," he requested. "Engage privacy mode."  
  
Beka fell on the bed, totally exhausted. It had taken all her energy to dock the ship and walk as far as the crew quarters. Tyr sat beside her and lifted the visor from his face. He turned to Beka his face full of concern. He looked directly into her tired blue eyes; his own eyes were as white as pearls. 


	3. Silent Tears

Chapter 3 - Rating and disclaimers as for chapter 1  
  
In the quarters he was temporarily sharing with Beka, Tyr was beginning to suffer from Flash withdrawal.   
His muscles twitched uncontrollably. He writhed on the bed as cramps knotted his legs.   
During one particularly bad spasm he bit through his lip. Throughout it all he made no   
sound, not even a groan escaped him.  
  
Beka watched as he suffered. She tried to hold him but he was moving so violently that it   
was impossible. During one short period when he seemed slightly calmer she removed a small   
phial from the pouch he was wearing round his waist.  
  
She measured the dose into the dropper and approached him. He shook his head vehemently.  
  
"No Beka, I can overcome this." As he spoke another wave of pain tore through his body.   
He slumped into semi consciousness and as he did so she inserted the drops into each of   
his eyes. She felt guilty about taking advantage of his weakened state but she could not   
bear to watch his agony.  
  
She looked longingly at the small bottle. She wanted the stuff so much, her entire body   
cried out for it. She had to be strong for him. Beka put the Flash away reluctantly, she   
could no longer see it but she could feel the craving for the drug pulling her.  
  
She climbed up onto the bed and put her arms round Tyr. She held him close and he turned   
towards her and began caressing her, gently at first, then as the drug took hold of him the   
caresses became more urgent. They coupled fiercely; it couldn't be described as an act of   
love. It was more basic than that. When it was over Beka slept. Tyr could not rest he   
paced the room too wired to do anything but walk endlessly. Since the latest dose of the   
drug his stumbling gait had disappeared. Physically he seemed unchanged, inside his mind   
all was turmoil. Fear and pain and guilt vied for dominance.  
  
He heard faint scrabbling sounds from the crawl space above the room. That little kludge   
Harper had been spying on them. He would have to be dealt with, but not just yet. It must  
be made to look like an accident. Tyr remembered the growing friendship that he'd had with   
Harper. He would have to put that behind him, he couldn't afford to remember his previous   
life. The crew of the Andromeda was doomed and he couldn't do anything to change that.  
  
In the crawl space Harper was silently crying. Large tears ran down his face and he did   
nothing to stop them. He'd seen most of what had happened in Tyr's quarters. He'd seen   
Beka administer the Flash to the big Nietzschean. He'd seen the longing in her face when   
she looked at the drug. He'd moved away when it became obvious that they were going to   
have sex. He wasn't a voyeur. He was there because of his concern for his friends.   
Hell they were more than friends? Tyr had saved his sorry butt on more than one occasion   
and Beka, well he'd worshipped Beka from the first time he'd set eyes on her on board the   
Maru.  
  
One good point about the whole sorry mess was that Beka appeared to be drug free. If he   
could manage to get her alone maybe he could talk to her. He crawled back through the maze   
of the crawl space until he was above his own quarters. He dropped down through the grating  
onto his bed. He knew that he wasn't going to sleep that night. He picked up a book that   
was lying on the table beside him. It was one that Tyr had lent him just a few short weeks   
ago.  
  
Tyr had handed it to him. "Thought you might enjoy reading this boy? It's a story from one  
of your ancient Earth authors. It is exciting and well written and although I believe it is   
intended to be a book for children there is much in it to think about."  
  
Harper had been meaning to read the book ever since but somehow there was always something   
to fix or tweak and he usually went to bed exhausted. He opened the book and started   
reading.  
  
From the first page the story held his attention. By the morning he had read the entire   
book. Harper had noticed Tyr's name written inside the cover with a date. The Nietzschean   
must have been very young when he had first read it; the volume was well worn and had   
obviously been one of his favourites.  
  
Harper was touched by the thought that Tyr would loan one of his treasured possessions to   
a scruffy, untidy engineer. It made him even more determined to get the Tyr that he knew   
and loved back again. Whoa were had that come from, he loved Tyr? Yes in a way he did   
love Tyr. He loved him in the way that you love a big brother. One who also loves you   
although he appears to have little time for you? One who would die for you?  
  
With renewed energy despite his lack of sleep Harper waited in the corridor outside Tyr's   
quarters. He waited a long while until finally Beka came through the door. She looked   
round her cautiously then headed for the galley. Harper came up behind her and touched   
her gently on the shoulder. She jumped and turned on him. She was holding a gauss pistol   
in her hand and he heard it charging as she pointed it straight at his head. 


	4. Trance Help!

Chapter 4 - Rating and Disclaimer as per Chapter 1  
  
There was a growl from the doorway and the sound of a gauss gun charging. Tyr Anasazi stood at the entrance to the room. His gun was pointing at Beka. "Do not touch her, creature," he snarled at Trance. "If you do I will kill her."  
  
Harper backed away from Beka. She followed him continuing to point the gun at his head. "You certainly have a death wish kid," she snarled at him. He put his hands up defensively. "Beka it's me Harper, what's wrong Beka I want to help you and Tyr but I don't know how." The short distance between them might have been light years. Beka had never before been so unapproachable. "Please Beka, tell me what happened, share it with me. It was obviously a dreadful experience but I'm your friend I want to be here for you." He looked into her eyes, thank the Divine they were clear, red rimmed and tired but clear of the tell tale sign of Flash addiction. She laughed contemptuously. "Dreadful doesn't even start to describe what happened to us. Look at me Harper, can't you see the changes in me. How long have Tyr and I been away?" He looked surprised. "A few weeks, maybe a month tops." "No Harper," she smiled, a weak copy of her usual broad grin. "It may have been a few weeks to you but to us it's been five years." He looked at her more closely; her face was etched with lines of pain. Her skin was dull and her usually shiny hair was unkempt. She looked much older than the Beka he remembered. "We've only come back to get the Maru." She didn't mention that they had also come back for another very different reason. He would know soon enough. She lowered her weapon. "It would be better if you just kept out of our way. Especially Tyr his temper is on a very short fuse and he is very unstable. I don't want you to get hurt kid. Flash is having even more of an effect on him than it had on me. He has his moments of clarity but they are increasingly few and far between." She sighed and spoke softly almost as if she were speaking to herself. "Who would have thought that the genetically perfect Nietzscheans would be so susceptible?" She looked into Harper's eyes. "I know that you were watching us last night and that you already knew about Tyr taking Flash, keep the information to yourself." She shrugged and turned away. "Beka," Harper tried again to talk to her, desperation apparent in his voice. "Forget us kid, it would be easier for you if you just think of us as being dead. Once we've done what we came back to do we're out of here on the Maru." She gave him a tentative smile, a glimpse of the old Beka Valentine. His boss the woman he had loved from the first time he set eyes on her. She continued to the galley, Harper tagging along behind her like a whipped puppy. Her inner voice was asking her how she could do what had to be done. The answer was easy she had no choice. She and Tyr had been programmed to carry out a certain action at a certain time and there was no going back. Every joint in her body ached and she wanted Flash more than she had ever wanted anything in her life before. She had been as addicted to it as Tyr before they had left the awful place where they had been held captive for so long. During the tedious flight in the small shuttle she had been able to wean herself off the drug and she knew that her blood was now clear of it. Tyr had not been so successful. She hoped that once her reliance on the drug was over she would be able to overcome the commands that had been planted in her brain. Unfortunately there was no sign of that being true. She couldn't tell any of the Andromeda's crew because to do so would cause her excruciating pain and destroy enough brain cells to send her into a vegetative state. She rubbed the back of her neck where the implant was situated. Its messages were becoming more urgent. She tried so hard to ignore them. "No," she screamed. "No." Her weakened body finally gave up and she collapsed, hitting her head as she fell. Harper rushed over to her and cradled her bloody head in his lap. He activated a comm link and shouted for Trance and Dylan. The next few minutes were a blur of activity. Dylan carried Beka to the medical deck and Trance began to run scans of her bodily functions. "Dylan," the golden girl's face was grave, her voice serious. "Beka isn't badly injured, she just has a slight concussion from the bump on her head and a small laceration. Her physical condition is very poor, she is malnourished and she has a badly healed fracture of her left arm. I can deal with these problems. However, I am not sure how to deal with this." She indicated a diagrammatic scan of Beka's brain. At the very base of the brain stem was an opaque mass with tendrils reaching out from it deep into the brain itself. The mass was pulsating as if it had a life of its own. Harper gasped, "Trance, what the Hell is that?" "I don't know Harper, but it isn't good." Dylan stared at the scan. "Trance there must be something you can do." He looked at the medic his face shocked at the abomination inside his former first officer's head. "I can try Dylan, but I must warn you even if I manage to remove it, things don't look good for Beka." There was a growl from the doorway and the sound of a gauss gun charging. Tyr Anasazi stood at the entrance to the room. His gun was pointing at Beka. "Do not touch her, creature," he snarled at Trance. "If you do I will kill her." 


	5. No!!!!!

Chapter 5 - Usual disclaimers and rating.  
  
Harper moved into Tyr's line of fire, he made sure that he was between Beka and the gauss gun. The small engineer looked up into the large Nietzschean's eyes. "I believe you Tyr," he said softly. "Let us help you, that's all we want to do, no one wants to harm either Beka or you." He looked at Tyr with compassion very apparent on his face. "Did they do this to you too? Tyr talk to me, did they implant you with one of these things?" He touched the big man briefly on the arm. "I'm sure that Trance will be able to remove them, just trust us, please Tyr." His voice took on a pleading note. He was devastated at the horrors that had been inflicted on his friends. Tyr pushed Harper's hand away. "Stay out of it kludge, you don't understand what's happened to us." The big man was fidgety, shuffling from foot to foot. It was obvious that his last dose of Flash was wearing off. His hands began to tremble and his legs seemed incapable of holding the weight of his body. That was when Seamus Harper made an almost fatal mistake. He decided to make a grab for Tyr's gun hand. Even in his weakened state Tyr easily overcame Harper. The two men struggled for a while, Harper fighting literally for his life. The engineer was hanging on to Tyr's arm while the infuriated man tried his best to make sure that Harper didn't manage to get the gun. "Give up kludge," he hissed. "I will kill you if you don't let go of me. His voice was cold and the sound of it made Harper shiver. This wasn't Tyr, this was some Flashed stranger. He backhanded Harper and the young man hit the floor of the medical deck. The hard landing knocked the breath out of him and he sat there for some time before he could stand up again. Tyr looked round the room, challenging one of the others to react. He aimed the weapon once more at Beka. Dylan approached the Nietzschean his arms upraised in the universal symbol of surrender. "Tyr, you have nothing to gain from killing Beka." Dylan was reason itself; his voice was calm and soothing. Tyr refused to be soothed. He turned and now the gun was aimed at Dylan's chest. "I told the mudfoot to keep out of it and I am telling you. I am going to take Beka back to my quarters, you will not try to follow us and you will leave us alone once we get there. If you do not then I will kill her, I do not need her one of us will be enough." A low groan from the bed drew everyone's attention. Beka struggled to sit up. With a defiant glance at Tyr, Trance helped her into a semi upright position. She placed a pillow behind the blonde woman's head. "It's all right Beka," she reassured her. "You are on the medical deck, you collapsed and we brought you here. Harper scrambled to his feet and managed to make his way over to stand by Trance. Beka tried to speak, the pain in her head increasing as she tried to get her thoughts in order. "This isn't right," she managed to say. "I've got to tell you." She screamed in agony as white-hot pain lanced through her from the implant. Tyr growled. He spun round and fired point blank at Beka. The round took her in the throat and with a look of surprise on her face she died. "No," Harper gasped in disbelief. He launched himself at Tyr at the same time Dylan also made a move to try to disarm the enraged uber. Tyr brushed Harper off much as he would have swatted a fly and the young man was thrown against the wall. Tyr extended his bone spurs and slashed at Dylan. The Captain managed to move away but not before his arm was cut and bleeding. "Rommie," Dylan shouted for the avatar. Tyr laughed, there was no humour in the sound it was mirthless and sent a chill through those members of the Andromeda's crew who were able to hear it. "You underestimate me Hunt, did you think I would allow the avatar to continue to function. I am sure that the kludge would be able to put her back together again, if I allow him to live." He gestured towards Harper who was semi conscious on the deck. Tyr gave another inhuman laugh as he advanced towards Dylan. His move was cut short by a blur of gold as Trance threw herself at him. Her unexpected attack threw the Nietzschean off balance; he landed heavily on the ground. His finger tightened on the trigger of the gauss gun and the weapon discharged. Harper who had managed to get back on to his feet didn't stand a chance. The round entered his body low on the left side of his abdomen travelled upwards and across, destroying viscera and tissue as it passed through the chest cavity, and his right lung, exiting just under his shoulder blade. Harper coughed once. He went down hard and lay crumpled on the deck in a steadily widening pool of his own blood. Dylan had managed to hold Tyr down long enough for Trance to sedate him. Once he was sure that the Nietzschean was no longer a threat he and the golden alien raced over to Harper. Dylan knelt by the side of the small human, he was frightened at what he might find. Trance had tears running unheeded down her face and Dylan was not surprised to find that his face was also wet. "Harper," he said gently. He felt for a pulse and found one, he offered up a silent, heartfelt prayer to the Divine. Between them he and Trance got the young man on to a bed. His colour was bad, his lips tinged with blue and his breathing was laboured and erratic. Trance worked like a fury on him. She finally had him stabilised and she turned to Dylan. It was the first time that he'd ever seen her show signs of exhaustion. While he'd been waiting for Trance to finish ministering to Harper he'd managed to get Tyr onto a bed and fasten him into restraints. The man was still out cold but Dylan knew how violent he would be when he woke up. Apart from any other consideration he would be in Flash withdrawal. Trance sighed wearily. "I think Harper will live Dylan but he's pretty badly hurt." She looked at the Captain's arm, he'd wrapped a bandage round it until she could get round to treating him. She carefully unwrapped the bloodstained cloth and inspected the wound. She cleaned it and sprayed it with artificial skin. A hypo of antibiotic completed the treatment. "Get some rest Dylan," she said. "I can do what has to be done here." "No Trance, I think I'll stay I want to be here when Tyr wakes up, I want to hear his explanation of his actions." Dylan took a chair and sat next to Harper's bed. The boy's vital signs were good and the monitor showed a steady heartbeat. Dylan took Harper's hand; he felt it was important that the engineer knew that someone was with him. Trance finished doing what she had to for Beka. The blonde woman looked as if she was asleep. She was as beautiful in death as she had been in life. Trance busied herself scanning Tyr; the same obscene mass was present in his brain too. She carried out other tests too while her patient was still cooperative. One of the findings startled her. She went back over to Beka's body and took a small sample from inside her mouth. Once she had the results she called over to Dylan. Hunt had been dozing when Trance spoke to him. He came too with a start to see a pair of blue eyes looking at him. "Harper, you're awake." Dylan smiled in relief. "Dylan," Harper whispered. "Please tell me it isn't true, tell me Beka isn't dead." Dylan squeezed Harper's hand. "I'm sorry Harper but she is dead, I'm so very sorry." Large tears welled up in Harper's eyes and trickled down his face. "Dylan," Trance was insistent. "Beka may not be dead, I don't know who or what they are on those beds but they aren't Beka and Tyr." 


	6. We will get them back!

The usual disclaimers apply.  
  
Apologies to those who are reading this story at Fanfiction.net they messed up the formatting on my last chapter when I have time I will go back and try to revise it. I don't write without paragraphs(  
  
In this chapter where I refer to 'Tyr' and 'Beka' I mean the impostors.  
  
At Trance's words Harper became extremely agitated, he tried to sit up, only succeeding in making himself cough uncontrollably. Fresh blood stained his lips and he struggled to talk.  
  
"Dylan if they aren't Beka and Tyr what are they and where are our friends?" He gasped for breath. "We have to find them, we have to, please Dylan."  
  
Trance prepared a sedative hypo; she nodded to Dylan to ask him to distract the young engineer. Dylan patted Harper's hand. "It's going to be all right but you have to get well first before you can do anything." He was desperately worried about Harper the boy's colour wasn't good and each breath was a struggle.  
  
Trance came up beside the bed and pressed the hypo to Harper's neck before he could protest. The strong sedative was quick acting and the engineer slumped back onto his pillows, his eyes closed.  
  
Dylan closed his own eyes momentarily, then opened them again and looked at Trance. He smiled weakly at her, slightly ashamed that she had seen his moment of weakness.  
  
"First things first," he said. "I take it that Harper will be out for a while. What are we going to do about 'Tyr'?" He glanced over to the figure on the other bed. "Do you think you can remove the implant?"  
  
Trance thought hard. "I'll be honest Dylan, I'm not sure. What I can do is practise on 'Beka' she can't feel anything now and if I make a mistake it won't matter." She saw Dylan's grimace of disgust. "I'm sorry if it seems callous but I think she wanted to help us, her mind seemed to be clearer than the male's." She put her hand on the Captain's shoulder and said very softly, "It isn't our Beka you know, our Beka is still out there somewhere and the sooner I can do something to help us locate her and Tyr the better."  
  
She became very businesslike. "Go and check out Rommie see if there's anything that can be done for her without Harper having to do the work. I'll do what's necessary here.  
  
Dylan was reluctant to leave Harper but he could see the sense in Trance's words. There was nothing he could do to help either 'Tyr' or the boy but he could be of use where Rommie was concerned.  
  
"Call me if anything happens Trance," he glanced towards Harper. "If there's any change I want to know."  
  
The gold alien made the young engineer as comfortable as she could. His colour was bad, his face grey with two spots of high colour on his cheekbones. His hair was wet with sweat. Harper's eyes were moving in REM sleep and he was obviously dreaming. His dreams were not pleasant judging by the low moans that he was emitting. She gave him the maximum dose possible of antibiotic and sedative and was pleased to see him settle into a deep dreamless sleep.  
  
Once she was satisfied that he was stable and in no pain she turned to carry out the operative procedures on the two impostors.  
  
Several hours later she had finished with 'Beka' and was ready to operate on 'Tyr'. She deepened the Nietzschean's sedation and turned him onto his front. She shaved the hair at the base of his skull leaving a clear area to work on. Removing the implant was extremely difficult and several times she had to stop. She worked at dissecting out the tendrils before removing the main mass. Finally she was able to lift if free, what she wasn't able to do was tell if the man would recover. Even if he did it was very possible that he would have no memory of his time as Tyr Anasazi.  
  
She put the two implants into a dish so that she could analyse them. Before she had a chance to do so they shrivelled and dehydrated into a white powder. All she was able to tell was that they were organic and possibly that they had been living organisms albeit on a very low level of sentience.  
  
Dylan meanwhile had found the Rommie avatar slumped in one of the corridors leading to the medical deck. The ship's hologram was standing guard over her. Holo Rommie was not happy; she stood with her arms crossed tapping a virtual foot in annoyance.  
  
Despite the horrors of the past few hours Dylan was amused by her attitude. He laughed genuinely for what seemed like the first time in days.  
  
He gently assessed the avatar, she didn't appear to be damaged physically for which he was grateful but her circuitry was fried in several places. It was beyond his ability to fix her; he would have to wait for Harper to be well enough to do it.  
  
He picked her up and carried her to the medical deck. Trance hadn't called him but surely she was finished by now.  
  
He walked in and deposited Rommie on the bed next to Harper. Trance was sitting at the desk with her head in her hands. Dylan went over to her and gently touched the top of her head. She looked up her eyes red with fatigue.  
  
"Get some rest Trance, I'll keep an eye on the patients."  
  
She nodded gratefully. "I won't leave the medical deck just in case." She settled down on the bed that had held 'Beka' and she was soon asleep.  
  
Dylan checked that the restraints on 'Tyr' were still fast and then went back to sit by Harper. The boy looked dreadful but his vital signs were strong. Harper was a fighter; he had to be to survive as long as he had.  
  
While Dylan was looking at him Harper's eyes opened. They were dull and heavy from the strong pain medication that Trance had given him.  
  
"Hi Boss," he said weakly. "I'm sorry about that little outburst earlier. I just miss Beka so much and Tyr too."  
  
He caught sight of Rommie lying on the bed next to his. "Guess she needs the Harper magic touch. I'm just so tired I can't really think straight." His eyes were closing again as he spoke. Dylan smoothed the hair off Harper's forehead; he looked even younger without his trademark spiky hair do.  
  
"Sleep well kiddo," he said, using one of Beka's favourite terms for her engineer. "I promise you Harper I will do everything I can to get them back. You have to hang in there and get well again."  
  
Dylan sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, his breathing deepened and he too was soon asleep.  
  
'Tyr' woke up suddenly, his dark eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling. He knew a moment of panic. Who was he and where was he? He tried to move and found that his arms and legs were restrained. He struggled for a few futile minutes but could not break his bonds.  
  
Seconds later his unearthly scream shattered the silence of the medical facility. 


	7. The Bad News!

The next chapter - rating and disclaimers as before.  
  
'Tyr's ' screams woke Trance and Dylan immediately. It took Harper a little longer to push himself up through the layers of consciousness to be fully awake.  
  
Trance went over to the panic stricken Nietzschean. She stroked his brow and spoke soothingly to him until he became quiet.  
  
'Tyr' looked at her, his face showing fear and hatred in equal measure.  
  
"Where am I and who are you?" He hissed at her. "What have you done with my mate?"  
  
He struggled once more against his restraints. He looked at Trance again this time his expression was puzzled. "You aren't the same, what's happening?"  
  
Dylan took over from Trance. "Tell us what you can remember?" He urged the man. "It's terribly important that we know."  
  
'Tyr' swallowed uncomfortably and Trance allowed him a few sips of water.  
  
"We were trading, riding the 'stream to O'Brien's Drift. There was a blast of white light then I woke up here." He looked bewildered for a moment. "No I was somewhere else. I don't remember, my head hurts too much."  
  
Harper had been lying quietly listening to what the man had to say. He remembered something that 'Beka' had said to him. He spoke to 'Tyr' his voice weak but audible in the hushed medical deck.  
  
"What year is it?" He asked the Nietzschean.  
  
The man thought for a moment then gave a date five years in the past.  
  
"'Beka' told me that five years had passed where she was. I think the Flash was to stop them remembering who they really were, she'd managed to stop taking it and her real memories were resurfacing." The strain of talking had exhausted Harper and he sank back on his pillows again. His breathing was harsh and laboured.  
  
  
  
'Tyr' was having difficulty understanding what was happening. "Who is Beka," he asked. "Where is Krom, my mate, I don't see him in this room." He looked at his own body as if seeing it for the first time. "What's been done to me?" The panic was back in his voice again.  
  
"What species are you?" Trance spoke softly trying not to alarm him too much.  
  
"We are Perseid traders, I'm Renke and my mate is Krom. Where is he?"  
  
Trance was amazed; the man showed no signs of Perseid anatomy. She replied to him, her face sympathetic.  
  
"I'm so sorry Renke but if Krom was the person who was with you, I'm afraid that he's dead. It might not have been him but both of you have been changed so much it is very difficult to tell. The only way I can be sure is to run a complete DNA scan on both of you."  
  
Renke tried to get up from the bed. "What did you do to him, how was he killed?"  
  
Harper joined in once again. "Let's cut the bull shit. You killed her or him. She was trying to help us and you shot her." The engineer still felt sick at the memory of 'Tyr' shooting 'Beka', even if it wasn't the real Beka it had seemed very real at the time.  
  
Renke screamed once more. "No, it's not true, why should I believe what you say, how do I know this isn't all a trick?"  
  
Dylan spoke authority evident in his voice. "Because you have my word as a Captain of the High Guard."  
  
Renke laughed at him. "The High Guard ceased to exist when the Commonwealth fell, even a Magog larva knows that much."  
  
Holo Rommie shimmered into existence. She stood in her familiar pose, arms crossed with a 'not amused' expression on her face.  
  
"I am the holographic representation of the Andromeda Ascendant, we are a High Guard warship, my Captain is telling you the truth, what have you got to lose by believing him? We are trying to help you."  
  
Trance explained about the implants, she told Renke how she'd removed them and how they had disintegrated into dust. She could see by his face that he was beginning to believe her.  
  
"If you will let me take some samples I'll try to work out what was done to you, I can also confirm whether 'Beka' was Krom. I don't think I'm going to be able to reverse the changes though, I'm sorry but that is beyond my skills."  
  
The Perseid closed his eyes. "Go ahead, I have to know."  
  
Trance gathered the material she needed from both impostors. She set to work analysing and checking her results against Andromeda's database.  
  
Dylan went to get food for them all. Harper couldn't or wouldn't eat, adding to the Captain's concern for the young man. He finally managed to get him to drink some soup. The Perseid ate ravenously, emptying his plate and looking for more.  
  
Renke and Harper were both asleep when Trance finished the tests. She sighed; the news was about as bad as it could be.  
  
Dylan gave her a quizzical look. "What's the verdict?"  
  
"It's not good Dylan. They are both Perseid but their DNA has been so drastically altered that it would be impossible to return Renke to that form. That is the bad news. What is worse is that he is dying. His entire molecular structure is disintegrating. Each individual cell in his body is breaking down. It will take a while but he has only days to live. It's almost as if the implant was keeping them stable as well as controlling their actions. I may be able to delay the inevitable but you won't like the solution."  
  
Dylan ran his hand through his hair. He was looking beyond exhaustion; all the worry of the recent events was catching up on him. "Just tell me Trance," he said wearily.  
  
"I can delay the effects for a few weeks by giving him Flash, it's not a permanent solution but it will work for a while."  
  
She looked at Dylan waiting for his decision. 


	8. I'm So Sorry

The usual disclaimers apply. I do not own the Andromeda characters I merely borrow them to hopefully amuse other fans.  
  
**************************************************************************  
  
Dylan looked at Trance. "Do whatever you have to do. It wouldn't be fair to make him suffer. This isn't his fault. I think that they must have really believed that they were Tyr and Beka. Somehow their memories were in those implants. The impostors certainly had me fooled."  
  
He glanced at Renke. "I'm going to search Tyr's quarters, there may be something there that will give us an idea of what the hell is going on."  
  
Trance nodded, he's asleep at the moment and so is Harper. I'm going to take another look at Krom's body, I can't imagine who would have the knowledge to change someone so drastically. As far as I can see they are identical to the real Tyr and Beka.  
  
Dylan left the medical deck and Trance went into the specially refrigerated area where Krom's body was being kept.  
  
As soon as they had both left Harper opened his eyes. He got out of bed, slowly and painfully, suppressing the urge to cough. He didn't want Trance hearing him and putting a stop to his activities. He managed to get to the bed where Rommie was lying. Even that short journey almost totally exhausted him. He leaned against the bed trying to catch his breath. He reached out and stroked Rommie's hair. "Don't worry Rom doll," he whispered. "I'll soon have you good again."  
  
His tool belt was on a nearby chair and he managed to reach it. He sat on the chair for a few minutes with his eyes shut trying to stay conscious. He had been hurt before but never this badly. Every breath was an effort and movement was torture. He had to fix Rommie, he wasn't about to let her down but he wasn't sure if his body would co-operate.  
  
He got back over to the avatar and started work; every action seemed to take twice as long as usual. Luckily Renke hadn't done a great deal of damage. "Soon have you fixed." He said to Rommie. Then I gotta take a little rest."  
  
He finished the intricate rewiring; his whole body was bathed in sweat with the effort of staying on his feet. Rommie's eyes opened and she looked at him. Her pleased smile soon turned into a look of concern as she took in his pale face and the bloodstained bandages wrapped round the upper half of his body.  
  
She slid off the bed and caught him before he fell. She carried him to his own bed and tenderly made him comfortable again.  
  
Trance was disheartened at the rapid decomposition of Krom's body. It was almost decaying in front of her eyes. She had examined it, using the most advanced techniques available to her but whatever secrets it held were not going to be found. She walked back into the main medical area. Renke was still asleep.  
  
Trance was surprised to see Rommie standing by Harper's bed. She realised immediately that Harper must have managed to repair the avatar, but as what cost to himself. She hastily checked him over. He protested weakly that he was fine.  
  
Trance was furious with him. "Are you a total idiot? You will never get better if you keep leaping out of bed. You are disturbing the healing of those wounds. You will be no good to Beka and Tyr if you kill yourself and no good to Rommie either. Do you ever think before you act?"  
  
Dylan came in at the tail end of her outburst and added a few choice words of his own. He was however, delighted to see Rommie back to her usual self.  
  
Trance asked him what he'd found.  
  
"Nothing, some more Flash, a few personal effects. Not a thing to tell us why they came back."  
  
Trance went over to Renke. "I'm going to wake him up he may be able to tell us something that would help. She shook the altered Perseid by the shoulder. His eyes opened.  
  
"Renke I'm going to have to give you more Flash, it's the only thing we have that can help you."  
  
He too had deteriorated in the time that he'd been asleep. His skin was beginning to peel and he was losing muscle tone. He still looked like Tyr but the changes in him were becoming very obvious.  
  
"How long have I got," he asked Trance.  
  
"You'll be fine," she replied, she administered the dose of Flash and waited for it to take effect.  
  
"No I am far from fine." The Perseid smiled weakly; it was Tyr's smile but subtly different. "I know that I'm dying, I want to help you find your friends. I want to make up for the harm that I've done here." He looked over to Harper who was propped up in bed. "I am truly sorry that I shot you, I did not mean to do so. I am a man of peace like all Perseids, if I had been myself I would not have hurt you."  
  
Harper nodded, his colour was better now that he was back in bed. "I've got some ideas about how we can get back to where you came from. If I can jack in to your ship's database I should be able to trace its route back."  
  
Trance shook her head. "No, Harper."  
  
"Yes Trance." Harper was adamant. "I don't feel pain when I'm in virtual mode you know that. You can carry me there on a stretcher if you need to but I am going to get into that database with or without assistance.  
  
Trance shrugged her shoulders and looked at Dylan and Rommie.  
  
"I will carry him." Rommie had Harper's hand in hers and the young man was holding on to her as if he would never let her go.  
  
Dylan agreed. "We have to let him try, he won't give us any peace otherwise. I don't think that I've ever met a more stubborn individual."  
  
Rommie picked her engineer up gently and cradled him in her arms. He had lost a lot of weight during the time that Beka and Tyr had been missing and she barely felt her burden. She carried him to the Perseid ship and sat on the deck allowing him to lean back against her while he worked. Harper plugged one end of the cable in to the ship's main computer and the other end into his dataport. His eyes closed and he slumped against Rommie as he entered the ordered world of the ship's brain.  
  
Harper looked around him. "Hello ship," he said softly. "Just going to take a little look around." It wasn't easy unravelling the intricate threads of data that told of the last voyage of the little craft. Viruses and firewalls beset the data stream. Harper worked furiously trying to overcome all the obstacles. The computer tried to throw him out but he persevered. He finally found what he was looking for along what appeared to be a dead end in the system.  
  
He came back to reality and pain with a jolt. Dylan was standing watching him.  
  
"I've got it Boss, I know where they came from, I've got all the slipstream jumps everything. What I don't know is what we're going to find when we get there." 


	9. Determination

Dylan had been piloting the Andromeda for what had seemed like days. He had made many slipstream jumps in that time and he was totally exhausted. Only the thought of finding Beka and Tyr kept him in the chair.  
  
Renke's condition was rapidly deteriorating despite the Flash that Trance had been forced to administer to him at ever shorter intervals. The Perseid's body was failing him, each organ was shutting down and every hour it seemed that he grew a little weaker.  
  
Harper was still in the med bay, he was healing but it was a slow process, even with the help of nanobots. His wounds were taking more time than they should. He was restless and constantly complaining. Trance supposed that was a good sign, she would have been even more worried about him if he'd been quiet.  
  
Rommie split her time between her engineer and the command deck. She wished there was something she could do to help Dylan but she was unable to fly the stream so she stood close by her Captain, giving him the comfort of knowing that she was there. Her help for Harper was more practical. She cajoled him into eating and helped with the day-to-day nursing necessities while Trance was busy with the dying Perseid.  
  
Renke was struggling to remember more details about what had happened to him and his partner. He knew that there was something important concerning the Eureka Maru but his abused mind couldn't make the connection. He slept for much of the time, obviously dreaming, he woke screaming on more than one occasion. It was after one of these nightmares that he remembered what it was he'd been trying to tell them about the Maru. He told Trance and she dispatched Rommie to explain to Dylan.  
  
"Dylan," Rommie's voice held a great deal of urgency as she approached her Captain. "You must not complete the last slipstream jump. It has to be done by the Maru, the Perseids had to take the Maru when they had finished their mission. Any other ship will be attacked and destroyed at the rendezvous point."  
  
Of course Harper heard what was happening, he was adamant that no one was taking the Maru anywhere without him. He became very agitated, shouting that he would be needed on board, that he would not stay on board the Andromeda. When anger got him nowhere he started pleading, tears in his eyes, running unheeded down his face. Trance feared for his health. He was much better but still not in any shape to start running round looking for Beka and Tyr.  
  
Dylan had completed the last but one jump and had come down to the medical facility to talk to Renke and Harper.  
  
"Is there any more that you can tell us, Renke?" The Captain ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand up like Harper's. Renke shook his head. "I'm so sorry I can't remember any more. I've tried so hard but nothing will come back to me. You're on your own Captain Hunt." The Perseid coughed hollowly. His lungs were straining to draw in air. Renke's eyes closed. Trance shook her head.  
  
"He doesn't have long now." She said very softly. The Perseid's eyes opened and he looked over at Harper. "Sorry I shot you.." His voice tailed off and he exhaled for the last time.  
  
Harper shut his eyes briefly. He was sorry for what had happened to the alien, he knew that Renke had not hurt him deliberately.  
  
"Boss," Harper's voice was determined. "Please let me come on the Maru with you, we've got no idea what's at the end of that last slipstream jump, you may need an engineer. I'm good really, and anyway I bet all those thrones that Gerentex owes me that Trance has got something she can give me to keep me going."  
  
Trance smiled sadly at him. "Oh yes, Harper, I can keep you going but after it wears off you're going to wish I hadn't bothered. In fact you'll probably wish you were dead."  
  
Harper looked at her, he shook his head. "Do you really think I care about that, all I care about is getting my friends back? Hell, they're more than friends, they're family. So, golden goddess, do what you have to do."  
  
A couple of hours later Dylan, Harper and Rommie were in the Maru. The decision had been made to leave Trance behind. Dylan was pretty sure that whoever was behind what was going on would only be expecting two life forms on the Maru.  
  
They exited the final slipstream and looked around. All they could see was empty space. Their sensors showed nothing and visual scans were the same.  
  
Harper slumped in his seat, disappointment and despair etched on his face. Dylan looked into the engineer's eyes. "Don't give up boy," he said, unconsciously echoing Tyr's usual way of addressing Harper. The younger man smiled briefly, just as Rommie reported that she'd picked up a sensor reading.  
  
"It's some sort of ship, Captain, but like no signature I've ever seen before, and it's directly above us."  
  
The Maru lurched suddenly; then it began to rise up. The mystery vessel was pulling them in. 


	10. The EndThe Beginning?

Final chapter, the usual disclaimers apply. May I also add that I am English, my spelling is English and my grammar style is English. This would appear to be very different from the American style. I say this because I had a review for another of my fics that said my grammar was pitiful and my spelling was atrocious (  
  
  
  
With a shudder the Maru was deposited in what looked like a very ordinary cargo bay. Rommie quickly ran some checks and declared that the air was fit to breathe. The three stood by the view screen, watching and waiting for someone, something to enter the bay.  
  
Dylan's face was etched with worry as he checked and rechecked his force lance. Harper's whole body language showed how fatigued he was. He too clutched a force lance. He refused to sit down, despite Rommie's pleading.  
  
"Rom doll, I can't sit still, not when we're so close."  
  
A movement at the far end of the containment area caught his attention. He brought the force lance up to a fighting position. "Someone's out there, I just caught a glimpse." Despite his haggard appearance he was more than ready to put up a fight.  
  
The figure approached the Maru, it appeared to be male and humanoid, its features were strangely blurred as if a child had painted a face and then smudged it. No weapons could be seen, but then not all weapons are immediately visible.  
  
A voice came over the ship's communication system. It sounded weary. "We have failed again. You will leave your weapons behind and come outside, there is no point in resisting me I can hurt you in ways that you cannot imagine."  
  
Harper shook his head. "No way, I ain't going out there without a weapon."  
  
As he spoke his force lance suddenly became red hot; he dropped it with a yelp. A large blister appeared on the palm of his hand.  
  
Dylan and Rommie put down their weapons as the airlock door opened.  
  
"You will leave your ship now." The voice was full of authority and the three crewmembers obeyed it without question.  
  
They were soon standing in front of the alien. "I should kill you now," it said. "But you may yet prove useful."  
  
He made a complicated pass with his hands and Dylan and his crew were paralysed, able to breathe but unable to make the smallest movement. They fell to the deck and lay there helpless.  
  
Three more aliens appeared and picked up the Andromedans. They were carried to a room and left there.  
  
After a few minutes the paralysis wore off. Harper groaned loudly and Rommie rushed over to check on him. "How do you feel?" Her voice was full of concern.  
  
"Not good Rom Doll." He whispered weakly.  
  
She sat down on the floor beside him and cradled him in her arms. All she could think of to do for him was to stroke his hair. The effects of the medication that Trance had given him would not last for many more hours and he was going to feel a whole lot worse when it wore off.  
  
Dylan was pacing the room checking walls, ceiling and floor for any way out. The room appeared to be seamless. Although he could make out a very faint line where he thought the door might be.  
  
He placed his hand against the door and was surprised to feel a handle and a lock. He could not see either and when he took his hand away there was no sign of anything marring the smooth surface.  
  
The room was an illusion. He started to feel his way around the walls, trying to find anything that could be useful to them. Harper and Rommie looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.  
  
He explained quickly what he was doing and Rommie left Harper to help with the investigation.  
  
Suddenly Dylan let out a shout. "Yes!" He punched the air in triumph. "Harper I've found a data port of sorts, do you feel strong enough to try and jack in to it?"  
  
Harper grinned weakly. "Yeah Boss, I'm good to go."  
  
Rommie helped him to his feet and he felt around the data port to see if it was compatible.  
  
"I think I can do something with this, give me a few minutes." He wasn't sure why but the aliens hadn't taken his tool belt or his link cable. He made a few modifications and without any hesitation jacked in to the alien port.  
  
He felt the familiar rush as his virtual body took over and entered the computer. It was wonderful to be entirely pain free for the first time in days. He didn't have time to enjoy it though he was too busy searching for some clue to Tyr and Beka's location and a way to escape from their captivity to go and find them.  
  
It took him a very long while to make his way through the maze that was the alien ship's brain. It was very different from any virtual environment that he had ever visited. There was a refreshing shortage of booby traps and dead ends. These beings had obviously never come across anyone with a data port before.  
  
Outside in the real world Rommie was becoming very concerned. Harper was slumped against her, his eyes shut. He was very pale and there were dark smudges below his eyes. His skin looked almost transparent. Rommie knew in her 'heart' that he was very near death.  
  
Dylan stood by helplessly, a situation he was not used to. He hated feeling so useless but apart from trying to break the lock on the door there was nothing he could do. He'd tried his hardest to get the door open but he had failed dismally.  
  
Without warning Harper opened his eyes. He was shaking, and very close to tears.  
  
"They're dead, they're both dead. I found them in the computer; all that's left of them is their brain patterns. They've gone Dylan, I'm so sorry we're too late."  
  
His eyes rolled and he collapsed into Rommie's arms.  
  
Dylan and Rommie looked in horror at each other. "It's not true." Dylan shouted at the unconscious Harper. He shook the engineer trying to wake him. "Tell me it's not true."  
  
Rommie laid a restraining hand on the Captain. "He can't help you Dylan, I don't think he'll come round again."  
  
Dylan was ashamed of himself, how could he justify attacking Harper when the boy had been through so much.  
  
They made the small human as comfortable as they could and sat down to wait.  
  
Eventually the door opened and what looked like the alien who'd first spoken to them came in.  
  
Dylan jumped to his feet. "What's behind all this, why did you take our friends and what reason did you have for sending back those poor creatures to replace them?"  
  
The alien looked at the angry Captain. "I am Clar, I do not owe you any explanation but I will tell you of the dreadful thing that you and your crew did to my people."  
  
"We've never met your people." Rommie was puzzled.  
  
"You never will," said the alien. "But you are still responsible for the destruction of my entire race. Only the crew of this ship survived and we have made a vow to avenge the rape of my planet."  
  
"I don't understand." Dylan was confused. "How did we destroy a race we've never met? We're trying to restore the Commonwealth and bring peace back to the Universe."  
  
"My planet existed in your future, many years into your future. You are due to meet with a group of aliens who want to sign up to your Commonwealth. Because they join with you they will gain access to your technology and in time they will become power hungry and use Commonwealth terra forming techniques to change my planet and make it impossible for our people to stay alive. We've come back to stop you before all this even starts."  
  
Dylan looked defiantly at him. "Well if you just kill us all now it will never happen so why are you keeping us prisoner?"  
  
"Oh it isn't any of you who are instrumental in persuading these murderers to join. It's the crewmember that you left behind on board Andromeda who manages to do that. I believe she calls herself Trance Gemini in this time zone."  
  
"Why don't you just go to the meeting place and stop the meeting from taking place?"  
  
"We have already tried that and it doesn't work. We have to totally discredit you and your crew and most of all that evil gold creature. We can't change the future any other way."  
  
"We'll never lead you to the Andromeda." Dylan was adamant.  
  
"Oh you will." The alien was equally adamant. "When my medical crew have finished you'll do anything I want you to."  
  
Two aliens appeared behind him carrying conventional weapons. Their leader spoke briefly to them in a language that sounded like the chiming of bells.  
  
Dylan and Rommie were taken away at gunpoint. Clar walked over to Harper and kicked him behind the knee joint. Harper didn't stir. Clar left the room convinced that the badly injured human was no threat.  
  
Minutes, hours later, Harper opened his eyes. He wasn't sure how long he'd been lying on the floor. He'd been semi conscious during Clar's explanation, although he'd lapsed back into darkness shortly after the alien had left the room. He stood up slowly, working his way painfully up the wall until he reached the computer access port. He was sure there was something inside the ship that he could use to stop this nightmare.  
  
He jacked in and once again felt the blessed relief from pain that accompanied his virtual existence. His first task was to search for Dylan and Rommie. He found them quite quickly. They were in some sort of medical facility. Wires were attached to Dylan's shaven head. Rommie was lying on a bed. Technicians were working on reprogramming her.  
  
He began to search in earnest for the area within the ship that he'd briefly noticed earlier. Clar's explanation had answered some of Harper's questions about it and he thought that the key to stopping the aliens lay there.  
  
He finally found the location that he was looking for. He stopped for a brief moment to admire the beauty of it. In the computer it looked like the inside of an iridescent seashell. Harper probed it gently. It seemed to be some sort of temporal drive. It was a little like the slipstream drive in construction and he began to feel more and more confident that he had found the solution.  
  
He summoned all his strength and started work. He was so near completion when the door to the room opened with a jolt and two of the aliens ran in. They began to kick the engineer's helpless body. Harper was aware of what was happening although he couldn't feel the pain from the attack. He plunged both virtual hands into the centre of the glowing mass and in the last few seconds before his life ended he destroyed it.  
  
The threads of time began to unravel and reform. Galaxies were born and died. The Commonwealth ended again. Five years before a group of unlikely comrades rescued a High Guard ship from a black hole two Perseids completed a very profitable trading run and celebrated their success by entering into a lifetime bond.  
  
On board the Andromeda a battered Eureka Maru sailed into the docking bay. Two life pods containing the injured but still living forms of Beka Valentine and Tyr Anasazi followed it shortly after.  
  
When the celebrations were over and the two were restored to full health the crew of the Andromeda carried on with their lives.  
  
Dylan assembled the crew on the observation deck one morning. "I've had a message from a planetary system, a couple of jumps away. They want to join the Commonwealth but they're unsure about signing a treaty. They're asking us to go and negotiate with them." He looked round his crew. "I know that I said that once we'd 50 worlds in the New Commonwealth we would back down and let the leaders carry on, but what do you all think about one more mission?"  
  
"Aw Boss." Harper did not want to go through all those boring diplomatic events again. He thought quickly. "The slipstream lens really needs calibrating and I've still got a lot of work to do on the Maru."  
  
Beka grinned at her engineer. "Nice try shorty." She smiled at Dylan. "Why not, we are good at it after all."  
  
Tyr stood with his arms folded. "I have no preference either way. I will abide by the majority decision."  
  
Trance had become very thoughtful as Dylan spoke. She looked at the Captain, her face expressionless. "I'm not sure about this. I do not want to be involved."  
  
They all looked at Rommie. The avatar shook her head. "It would not be appropriate for me to have the deciding vote."  
  
Harper smirked. "As usual your resident freakin' genius has the solution." He rummaged in his tool belt and produced a coin. "Heads we go, tails - he winked at Trance - we don't."  
  
He flipped the coin in the air and deftly caught it, slapping it down on the back of his other hand. He kept the coin covered tantalising them all. Trance shut her eyes briefly. She gently tapped the back of her own hand.  
  
Harper uncovered the coin. "Tails it is," he crowed.  
  
The crewmembers of the Andromeda went about their business. The planet was somehow forgotten about and was never contacted again. Mysteriously the slipstream routes to it disappeared, its inhabitants never joined the Commonwealth nor did they desire to do so.  
  
The End 


End file.
